U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,751, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an advantageous device for piercing earlobes. Briefly, the ear piercer disclosed in that patent comprises a handheld instrument having opposed jaws which are movable towards and away from each other and between which the earlobe to be pierced is clamped. One of the jaws is provided with means for receiving a pointed stud and driving it through the lobe while the latter is clamped between the jaws. The other of the two jaws has means for receiving the end of the stud which passes through the lobe. The device is constructed so that the instrument is readily removed from its piercing position the earlobe while leaving the stud inserted therethrough by simply moving the device in a direction perpendicular to the stud axis away from the lobe.
In the lobe piercer of the above-referenced patent the stud is provided with a cylindrical head of close tolerance that can be extended into a bore in a spring actuated plunger which in turn forces the stud through the earlobe. For accurate, straight and painless earlobe piercing the stud must travel in a straight, axial direction. In the referred to prior art device this is accomplished by dimensioning the stud head so that it snugly engages the bore in the plunger and is frictionally secured thereto while the remainder of the stud protrudes forwardly. Since this remainder is unsupported the head has a sufficient length so that the stud is positioned, held, guided and driven by the plunger and the bore therein. This snug fit is necessary to prevent the stud from wobbling while it is driven forward by the plunger
Even though the referenced patent contemplates that the device is simply withdrawn from the earlobe after the piercing operation, the frictional engagement between the head and the plunger bore can cause problems since a relatively tight frictional fit is required to maintain the stud in position and alignment with the plunger. Such tight engagement, however, is not conductive to the ready removal of the piercer. In fact, proper removal may require the application of axially oriented, opposing forces to the plunger, or the piercing device per se, and the stud which is to remain in the earlobe. Failure to do so may cause the retention of the stud in the plunger bore and a resulting withdrawal of the stud from the earlobe. Since such a withdrawal is never in an axial direction, but perpendicular thereto, this may be painful and in severe circumstances may cause injury. On the other hand, loosening the fit between the stud head and the plunger bore may prevent an axial alignment of the stud with the plunger during the piercing operation and may prevent the piercing of the lobe and/or maim the lobe because the relative movement of the plunger may be in a direction offset from its axis.
The just-referred to necessary interrelationship between the stud head and the plunger bore places a further undesirable limitation on the studs. The head must be cylindrical or the necessary holding, positioning and guiding function is lost. It is not possible, for example, to employ spherically-shaped stud heads even though they may be aesthetically more attractive.
The referenced patent also contemplates the use of clips for securing the stud to the earlobe during the healing process which usually takes several weeks. Such clips are well known and generally comprise a disc provided with a stud engaging aperture that is constructed so as to snap onto the stud. To prevent accidental loss of the clip the studs are usually provided with a clip engaging groove adjacent their pointed end. In accordance with the prior art, and particularly as disclosed in the above-referenced patent, the clips are manually slipped onto the stud end protruding from the just-pierced earlobe. This is not only time consuming but also painful since it requires a manipulation of the lobe.
Lastly, it is difficult to align the earlobe piercer of the above-referenced patent with a particular point on the lobe to be pierced. Frequently, the location at which the lobe is to be pierced is marked by applying a small dot thereto. Thereafter the piercer is placed over the lobe and the stud is inserted. However, for proper alignment the stud must be aligned with the mark. A pressure plate employed by the piercer of the above patent includes a long, narrow slit through which the stud is subsequently moved. However, during the alignment process the stud is retracted from the pressure plate so that it is difficult to judge at which precise point the stud will enter the earlobe. Furthermore, the slit is so narrow as to make it difficult to find the mark on the earlobe after the earlobe is placed between the jaws of the piercer.
Thus, even though the piercer of the referenced patent is a substantial advance over theretofore available devices and earlobe piercing methods, it still has numerous disadvantages which limits its usefulness and, therefore, its commercial acceptance.